The week leading up to this July Fourth at the BHYC has been like driving up the on-ramp to the southeast expressway in Boston at rush hour. How is this so? Because the summer is off with a flurry of activity all on the heels of Boothbay Harbor’s annual Windjammer Days. Never a dull moment around these parts. Popular trivia nights, Mah Jong, regular bridge nights, regular Thursday night cocktail hour, regular raft-up socials, a junior program that has young participants enthusiastically experiencing summer on tennis courts and sailing in crafts of all sizes and scopes and so much more, including preparations for the next Battle of the Bays, the next Round Southport Race, the start of the Commodore’s Cup series and the Shipyard Cup later in July. It’s a veritable hive of summer activity and education worth keeping up with.  

This past week, the club speaker series hosted Cindy Wade RN, BSN, MHA, president of MaineHealth Lincoln Hospital on July 1. Wade spoke some about MaineHealth but mostly presented a valuable overview of healthcare in Maine by delving into the financial, demographic, and workforce issues that affect healthcare in rural areas such as ours. Her general discussion was then followed by addressing more specifically the quality and availability of healthcare here in the Boothbay region. She fielded numerous questions and provided important perspective on all of MaineHealth’s integrated services in Lincoln County and on the Boothbay peninsula in particular.  

The Yacht Club hosts speakers at their Tuesday Talks about ten times each season allowing members to hear presentations by numerous experts on a variety of topics followed by conversation and cocktails and then dinner. This summer’s series will include talks on classic cars, beekeeping, retracing the Northwest Passage, chef experiences aboard a Mediterranean cruise, scallop farming, how science is funded, and the history of a border dispute with Canada dating from the War of 1812 which still causes issues today.  

This summer’s BHYC Scavenger Hunt also took place this past week from June 26 to June 29. In the past  the Yacht Club’s Day Afloat has been conducted as a day of scavenging on the water. Because of the popularity of this annual event, this year’s Entertainment Committee, chaired by Jody Rosenbaum, opted to create an on-land scavenger hunt earlier in the summer for its hilarious family-oriented event.  Seven teams participated in the inaugural version.  Twelve clever clues sent teams all over Boothbay to capture information about landmarks, history, and area trivia over three days. On Sunday afternoon, the teams turned in their results at the BHYC and the awards were presented. The Knotty Navigators won first prize followed closely by the Brooks/Hakanson team who scored highly with some creative and humorous answers. In keeping with the BHYC tradition, the 2nd place Scavenger Hunt team is awarded the honor of creating next year’s hunt which will no doubt be just as entertaining.  

The following July weeks are looking just as busy as this past one if not more so. The Battle of the Bays in which several junior sailing programs from around the state will be racing against each other in Boothbay Harbor waters the week of July 6; the next week sees the Round Southport Race and the following week the Shipyard Cup takes place. Upcoming speakers include a presentation from Veggies to Table out of Newcastle, a Jill McGlaughlin Trunk Show, and a talk by Terry Paetzold. As of now the on-ramp is jammed, thankfully in a good way. 

Please feel free to call the Club if you have questions about upcoming events or any of the regular weekly events.